Masters of Invention

Eclipse Inspires Palisadians Near and Far

By MATTHEW MEYER | Reporter

At a time when our focus is so often directed downward at a smartphone, it was a refreshing sight this week as Palisadians took to the streets and gazed upward for a partial view of the country’s first total eclipse since 1979.

To do so, they needed proper eyewear—items that were in strong demand as retailers quickly sold out and prices at online vendors soared.

Luckily, there was a giving spirit at the Palisades Branch Library, where staff handed out some 150 pairs of protective glasses starting early in the morning of Monday, Aug. 21.

Even as the number of eclipse-seekers far surpassed the number of glasses available, the festive atmosphere in the library’s parking lot and lawn area made it easy to find a Palisadian willing to share their pair with neighbors.

There were plenty of other ways to safely view the eclipse as well, from welder’s masks to cardboard box contraptions that allowed users to view a reflection of the eclipse on a blank sheet of paper.

Jim and Carrie Berman had one such device—fashioned out of a family-sized Raisin Bran box—and also took a turn with a neighbor’s glasses.

They brought along their young daughter Shayna, an aspiring future astronaut who told the Palisadian-Post: “I thought it was pretty cool, I got really excited.”

Others struggled to take photographs though the glasses on their mobile phones: largely, the results were disappointing.

Inside the library, a projector streamed ABC News live coverage from the eclipse’s “path of totality”—the thin band of the country that briefly beared witness to the total eclipse.

Some Palisadians, like satellite systems engineer Deborah Castleman, had staked out accommodations within the path months in advance to enjoy the eclipse at its most dramatic.

But the cheery atmosphere around Pacific Palisades that morning proved that even the partial eclipse was a sight to behold for those who stayed right at home.